Cenotes Recommendations

[Bayou Platypus]

A group of us will be in Mexico for a week in July staying at a resort near Puerto Aventuras.

Never been cave diving, but after reading verona's trip report, the Cenotes sounds like a great experience we have to do.

Looking for recommendations on dive ops and sites for the Cenotes. Have read good things here on ScubaBoard about Hidden Worlds and Dive Puerto Morelos.

If we are only able to dive one day in the Cenotes, which dive op would you recommend and which sites should we see? If we are able to dive two days (or more), would you recommend both days in the Cenotes--or one day in the Cenotes and one day doing a reef dive?

Any other recommendations or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[verona]

If we are only able to dive one day in the Cenotes, which dive op would you recommend and which sites should we see? If we are able to dive two days (or more), would you recommend both days in the Cenotes--or one day in the Cenotes and one day doing a reef dive?

They are both good ops but have different feel to them. Hidden Worlds is more "business like" and organised and work to a schedule - DPM is more "personal" and feels less "planned". DPM can take you to private cenotes while Hidden Worlds use DOs Ojos and Dreamgate. My own preference between the two was Hidden Worlds both in terms of their operation and the choice of cenote. But YMMV. If you go to Hidden Worlds they have 2 tank dives leaving at 9, 11 and 1. You could do Dos Ojos and Dreamgates (if you already have some experience). Because cenotes are shallow you can have long dives and lengthy non deco limits.

Also depending on what you have dived before, and assuming you have done ocean reef diving before, I would spend the 2 days doing the cenotes because they are so unique. More than 2, then schedule a trip to Coz as well.

I am envious. I woudl go back there tomorrow!

 

[boydski]

Looking for recommendations on dive ops and sites for the Cenotes. Have read good things here on ScubaBoard about Hidden Worlds and Dive Puerto Morelos.

If we are only able to dive one day in the Cenotes, which dive op would you recommend and which sites should we see? If we are able to dive two days (or more), would you recommend both days in the Cenotes--or one day in the Cenotes and one day doing a reef dive?

Any other recommendations or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

My favorite two Cenotes are Dos Ojos and Gran Cenote, which are both South near Tulum. If you are diving two days, I would recommend you dive both days in the Cenotes. The group I went with in November spent several days diving in the Cenotes, then did a day diving the reefs and immediately wanted to head back to the Cenotes. You can read my trip report (with photos) here .

Taj Mahal would also be another good choice for a second day, as it's almost directly across the street from Puerto Aventuras.

Have a great trip!

 

[Bayou Platypus]

Thanks verona and thanks boydski--this is fantastic information...

Since we plan to dive Cenotes with a guide, can we get to each of these sites you mention without any previous cave experience and/or cavern courses/certifications?

 

[boydski]

Since we plan to dive Cenotes with a guide, can we get to each of these sites you mention without any previous cave experience and/or cavern courses/certifications?

Gran Cenote and Dos Ojos are both very easy, and you should be able to dive either with a guide, no certification needed. All you really need is good buoyancy control and keep your fins up so you don't silt for others. You can see one of the entrances throughout the entire dive (especially Gran Cenote, as the Cavern Dive is a large semi-circle). If you are comfortable in those sites, other sites like Taj Mahal or even Chac-Mool are also suitable, but a bit more challenging as both sites do have haloclines which are disorienting and a bit deeper ( maybe 40' instead of 25' deep ).

 

[Knute]

I dove Taj Mahl and Chac Mool in Jan. and they were both great dives. Taj Mahl has conch shells embedded in the rock from when it was under the ocean. Both are clear beyond anything you have ever seen. There is no sensation that you are in water, it's like you are floating on air. I dove with Dressel Divers. The guide was very good, very safe, and took care of both you and the cenote. They don't want to wreck what they have. They don't let you use commercial de-fogger in your mask to keep the water pure. If you go, do as many cenotes as you can. The reef diving is in choppy water and fast currents, you might not like it if you are used to diving calm lakes.

 

[verona]

Since we plan to dive Cenotes with a guide, can we get to each of these sites you mention without any previous cave experience and/or cavern courses/certifications?

Yes. All you need is OW qualification. At Hidden Worlds, I believe that for Dreamgates you need to have demonstrated good buoyancy and possibly have AOW. But Bat Cave and Dos Ojos you can do without any prior experience in cavern diving. Don't worry about that - as long as your buoyancy is ok and you are ok with dim light. it isn't too narrow and you can always see the light zone. The guides are excellent and are used to beginners. At Hidden Worlds they stress that you can call at any time for any reason without a problem - the group will descend, see what the problem is and then go back down if all is ok. The giude did say that it rarely happened but I think the fact that he said it made us all feel better. Anyway, the nerves go very quickly once you see the fantastic vistas.

 

[Diver Lori]

Whichever op you choose, make sure they have an electric compressor. There have been serious issues recently with a gas powered compressor at one of the ops recommended in this thread.

 

[Bayou Platypus]

Whichever op you choose, make sure they have an electric compressor. There have been serious issues recently with a gas powered compressor at one of the ops recommended in this thread.

Which op? What kind of serious issues?

 

[d33ps1x]

www.dir-mexico.com or www.cenotes.com